Whispers in the Night
by Reticence
Summary: Harry has just returned to the Dursley's for the summer holidays. Everything is the same as always, until someone unexpected turns up in Harry's bedroom one night. Harry must leave Privet Drive for his own safety. Will be be able to? Finally updated!
1. An Unexpected Visitor

I hope you like this story. It was up before, but I took it down and fix it up a bit. Enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to review! =)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Everything belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling, not me. Though I wish I could write like her....  
  
Whispers in the Night  
  
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Visitor  
  
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Harry Potter sat on bed working absentmindedly on his Transfiguration homework. The summer holidays had just started and they were already as unbearable as ever. His Aunt and Uncle were treating Harry like he was something slimy that had just crawled onto their dinner plate and Dudley refused to remain in the same room as him. Harry preferred to keep to his room where he could be alone with his thoughts. However, he still felt it was safer to work on his homework under the cover of night in case one of the Dursleys popped their rhinoceros head in unexpectedly.  
  
Harry looked down at his unfinished essay and sighed. He was still twelve sentences short. After looking at the clock that now read 1:57, he finally decided it was time to call it quits for tonight. Harry put his quill down and reached under his bed. He pulled up the loose floorboard and stuffed his unfinished essay into it. He was about to get into bed when he heard a loud tapping on the window.  
  
"Hedwig," Harry whispered, "shh, you'll wake the Dursley's."  
  
"Can't you shut that owl up, boy?" Uncle Vernon's booming voice sailed up the stairs. "One more sound and you'll wish you were never born!"  
  
"Too late," Harry sighed. He silently made his way over to the window and took the letter from Hedwig. As she flew across the room to her cage, two more owls swooped in after her. Harry recognized the minute owl right away. It belonged to his friend, Ron. Harry untied the letter with some difficulty because the tiny owl was currently zooming excitedly across the room.  
  
"Harry,  
  
How's it going? I hope the muggles are treating you alright. Mum says that Dumbledore should let you come and stay with us soon. I can't wait! Maybe you'll be able to come with us to see the Quidditch final. Well, I just wanted to check and see how you were. Write back!  
  
Ron"  
  
Harry grabbed some more spare parchment and scribbled a note back to Ron.  
  
"Ron,  
  
Thanks for writing to me. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't heard from anyone. Actually I do know- I'd be going out of my mind. Everything's pretty much the same here. Dudley's diet isn't going well and I've been living mainly on stale pumpkin pastries that I saved from the train last week. I really hope I can come and stay with you soon. I don't know how much more of the Dursley's I can take. Well, I better get going.  
  
Write soon, Harry"  
  
Harry attached the note to Pig's leg, with more difficulty because he was still zooming around the room. Harry watched as he flew away and turned to the other owl, which he didn't recognize. He took the letter from it and immediately recognized Hermione's neat writing.  
  
"Dear Harry,  
  
How are you? I do hope you are well and that the Dursley's are treating you okay. Everything's alright here. I've been incredibly busy with schoolwork, of course...."  
  
"That's Hermione for you," Harry laughed to himself.  
  
"but I was wondering if you would be able to meet me at Diagon Alley next Wednesday. Ron is going to be there as well and we both thought it would be nice to give you a break from those awful relatives of yours for a while. If you are able to come, send a response back and my parents will pick you up on Tuesday night. I'm looking forward to seeing you.  
  
Love from, Hermione"  
  
Harry could have screamed with happiness, however he knew better than that. Instead he grabbed another piece of parchment and hastily scribbled a note back to Hermione.  
  
"Hermione,  
  
That would be great! I think I'll go out of my mind if I don't go leave here soon. I'll meet your parents in the front of the house on Tuesday- trust me, they don't want to come inside. I'm looking forward to seeing you and Ron!  
  
Talk to you then, Harry"  
  
Harry attached the letter to the owl's leg and turned to the letter Hedwig had brought him. It was from Sirius.  
  
"Dear Harry,  
  
How is everything? I hope you are alright. I'm doing fine. I am well hidden and I promise you that no one will be able to find me here. I am very close to you, Harry, but I can't say any more than that right now. Please promise me you won't go looking for me. It is for your own good. Keep your eyes open, Harry. There is a lot going on out there that doesn't concern you and you need to protect yourself. If anything unusual happens, send word with your owl. She'll know where to find me.  
  
See you soon, Sirius"  
  
Excited, Harry grabbed a spare piece of parchment and began scribbling a return note.  
  
"Dear Sirius,  
  
I'm very glad to hear that you are doing well. I am fine, mainly because the Dursley's are still afraid that you will show up and turn them into bats. I promise I won't go looking for you, but if you are that close, do you think you could drop by sometime? I'm kind of lonely here and I would love to see you. I don't think I can stand it here much longer. Well, it was good to hear from you. Write back soon!  
  
Keep in touch, Harry"  
  
Harry folded up the letter and attached it to Hedwig's leg. He watched her fly out the window and into the night. But much to Harry's surprise the owl appeared to be flying towards Mrs. Figg's house.  
  
"That's odd," thought Harry. He strained his neck trying to get a closer look, but the owl had disappeared into the night. Harry stared absentmindedly out the window for a few seconds before deciding to get into bed. As he pulled the covers over himself, he smiled. He would be free from this place for a whole day next week! However, Harry hardly had time to think about what he, Ron, and Hermione were doing to do that Wednesday because he fell asleep as soon as his head hit his fluffy pillow.  
  
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Harry woke suddenly a few hours later. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he reached for his glasses, which were on the nightstand. Just as he was about to put them on, however, he heard the bottom stair creak. Next moment, there was an unmistakable swish of a cloak and Harry heard strange voices in the hallway outside his room. Harry's heart pounded beneath his shirt. He recognized those voices. He had heard them only a few weeks before in that fateful graveyard where Lord Voldemort had been reborn.  
  
"Master, are you sure this is the house?" a voice whispered.  
  
"I'm sure, Wormtail, now hurry up and find the boy! Now!" a cold, high voice filled the hall.  
  
"Yes, master" Wormtail replied.  
  
Just as Harry began to panic, his bedroom door creaked open. 


	2. Leaving Privet Drive

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.... (creative, huh?)  
  
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"Master, are you sure this is the house?" a voice whispered.  
  
"I'm sure, Wormtail, now hurry up and find the boy! Now!" a cold, high voice filled the hall.  
  
"Yes, master" Wormtail replied.  
  
Just as Harry began to panic, his bedroom door creaked open.  
  
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Harry watched, aghast, as two men entered his room. What should he do? His wand was currently locked in the cupboard under the stairs with all his other school things that he hadn't been able to sneak out. No matter how he looked at it, he was trapped. Meanwhile, the two men were walking angrily around his room, apparently searching for something.  
  
"Why haven't they found me yet?" Harry wondered to himself.  
  
Finally, with one last look around his room, the men left. Down the hall, he could hear them muttering angrily to each other.  
  
Harry was confused. Why hadn't Voldemort come after him? And why did they just leave like that? It was a few hours after Harry heard the downstairs door slam shut before he was able to move again. He knew what he had to do. Harry grabbed some spare parchment and his eagle feather quill and began scribbling as fast as he could.  
  
Dear Sirius,  
  
I know I just wrote to you, but the strangest thing just happened to me. I was asleep, when I heard voices in the hall. Before I could figure out what to do, Voldemort and the Rat were standing in my bedroom! But, they didn't even seem to know I was there. Finally, they left. I have no idea what happened. How come he didn't attack me? Please write back as soon as you can! I'm so confused.  
  
Love, Harry  
  
As soon as he put his quill down, Harry noticed that Hedwig was back again. Relieved, Harry folded up the note to Sirius.  
  
"Can you take this to Sirius for me, please?" He asked the snowy white owl. Hedwig hooted in an annoyed sort of way, but allowed him to tie the letter to her foot. As soon as the letter was secured, she flew off into the night, again in the direction of Mrs. Figg's house. Harry was too exhausted to think about this, however, and decided he should try and get some sleep. He removed his glasses and after a quarter hour of tossing and turning, he finally drifted into a very light sleep.  
  
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The next morning, Harry awoke to something nipping his fingers. He opened his eyes and noticed that his snowy white owl was flying over him with a letter in her beak. Harry reached for his glasses and snatched the letter from Hedwig. He noticed right away that the letter was scribbled in a hurry, but he recognized Sirius' writing.  
  
Harry,  
  
You must leave the Dursley's right away. It seems as though Voldemort has discovered where you live. However, although he was probably standing two feet in front of you, he wasn't able to find you. This is because of the "ancient magic" Dumbledore invoked when he left you on that doorstep fourteen years ago. I won't go into detail, right now, but I promise you will find out soon. In the meantime, stay in your uncle's house. Do not leave for any reason. I have alerted Dumbledore and someone will be there to pick you up at 3:00 this afternoon. Be ready and wait in the hall. Until then, be alert and stay out of trouble.  
  
Sirius  
  
Harry stared at the letter for a few minutes. It didn't sound good. But as worried as he was, he was relieved to be leaving the Dursley's. He put down the letter and absentmindedly began packing his things. There wasn't much in his room due to the fact that it was all under the downstairs cupboard, so it only took him a few minutes. Finally, he decided it was time to go downstairs and break the news to his uncle.  
  
As Harry made his way down the stairs, he saw that everyone had already finished breakfast.  
  
"Wow, I must have slept late," he thought. And with a quick glance at the clock he saw that it was almost 2:30 in the afternoon.  
  
"Wait a minute- 2:30?" Harry said loudly as he was pouring milk into his cereal.  
  
"That's right, boy," Uncle Vernon blundered into the kitchen upon seeing that Harry was up, "it's 2:30. And may I ask what on earth kept you this long?"  
  
But there was something different about Uncle Vernon's tone. It was almost polite and inquisitive. He had never spoken to Harry in this manner before, and Harry vaguely wondered what the occasion was. Harry figured that this might be a good time to break the news to him.  
  
"Er, Uncle Vernon?" Harry ventured.  
  
"Yes, Harry?"  
  
*Wait a minute- did he just call me Harry?*  
  
"Umm...." Harry began uneasily, "in about a half hour-"  
  
"I already know, Harry," Uncle Vernon said in a strange voice, "your things are waiting for you in the hall."  
  
"Oh, um, ok then." Harry stammered, "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
Harry backed uneasily out of the kitchen. There was something strange about Uncle Vernon's face. Was it pity? Harry doubted it. Still, he had never been treated that nicely by his uncle and this surprised him. And how did he know that Harry was leaving? Harry didn't have time to think about this, however, because at that moment the doorbell rang.  
  
Harry hurried along the hall to the door and pushed it open.  
  
"Sirius?"  
  
"Hey Harry!" Sirius was positively beaming to see his godson despite the fact that he was very nervous. "I'm here to take you. I'll explain everything later."  
  
"But-"  
  
"There's no time to explain, Harry, you just half to come with me for now. We don't have much time. Now, where's your trunk?"  
  
"It's over there."  
  
Sirius picked up Harry's trunk easily and carried it out the door.  
  
"Come on, Harry. Let's go."  
  
And with one last confused look at Privet Drive, Harry followed his godfather out into the street. 


	3. Explanations

Thank you to:

**Ash**

**Felt-N-Rox**

**ladyscar**

**Professor Authordude**

**Dumbledore_88**

for the reviews!!

A/N: Some of the stuff at the end came straight from GoF, pages 634-635

Enjoy!

Whispers in the Night

Chapter 3: Explanations

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As soon as Harry and Sirius were outside the driveway, Sirius motioned for Harry to follow him and transformed. They walked along the street for a while, before Sirius led Harry to a forest and behind a large rock. After checking to make sure they were well-hidden from the street, Sirius resumed his usual form and sat down next to his godson, who was currently looking very confused.

"So, Harry, what have you been up to this summer?" He asked.

"Oh you know, the usual-" Harry began, "wait, who cares about what I've been doing? What _happened_ last night? Why didn't-"

"Harry wait," Sirius interrupted, "there are a lot of things I need to tell you, but it must wait. We need to get you to safety first."

"Safety? But I'm perfectly fine-"

"Harry, there's no time to argue. Now listen to me. Listen to me _carefully_. As much as I would like it, you cannot stay with me. It is just too dangerous. You will stay with the Weasley's, but first Dumbledore needs to put up a few protection spells. This should take only about a few more hours, which gives us plenty of time to spend some time with each other and, erm, _explain some things before we portkey to Ron's." Sirius pulled a pink handkerchief out of his pocket._

"Er, did- did you say _portkey?" Harry began uneasily._

"Yes, Harry, we'll take a portkey there. Don't worry, Dumbledore thought you might be a little apprehensive about it, but I assure you that we will be together the entire time.

Harry continued to look extremely nervous, but he nodded anyway.

"So how have you been, Sirius? I've missed you," Harry said with a smile.

"I've missed you too, Harry," Sirius answered sadly, "but don't worry- it's only a matter of time before Peter is caught and hopefully then I'll be able to give you the home you should have had fourteen years ago."

"Sirius," Harry began slowly, "if you still don't have a place to live, where have you been staying?"

"Well," Sirius appeared to be thinking about how much to tell his godson. "Remember when Dumbledore asked me to alert the "old crowd?"

"Yeah...."

"Well one of the people I needed to alert was none other than your old babysitter, Arabella Figg."

"Arabella Figg?" Harry asked disbelievingly. "But she isn't, she can't be-"

"She can't be what?"

"She can't be a witch!"

"Why not?" Sirius asked.

"Because... because... well let's say she _is_ a witch, I mean to say, why hasn't she told me before? Why in the world did she let me live with those horrible relatives of mine and not even let it slip to me what I was?"

"Harry, "Sirius began, "Harry, I don't know how much I should tell you, but, well I suppose I should start at the beginning." Sirius took a deep breath. "You see, Arabella and your mother were friends at school."

"But how is that possible?" Harry interrupted. He was now thoroughly confused. "She's, well, _old_. How could-"

"Well, you see the Arabella you know is not exactly the same, er, Arabella I know. You see, she had been taking Polyjuice Potion to hide her true identity."

"But why would she half to do that?"

"To protect you, Harry. You are aware of you Aunt's jealousy towards your mother, are you not?"

"Yeah...." answered Harry who still couldn't see where this was going.

"Well, like I said before, your mother and Arabella were very good friends. Therefore, your Aunt was used to seeing Arabella around the house during the summer holidays. Naturally, she hated her, which is why Dumbledore suggested that she take Polyjuice Potion to prevent Petunia from recognizing her when she moved next to you."

"But why would she need to move next to me in the first place?" Harry asked.

"Because Dumbledore wanted someone to keep an eye on you and make sure you were safe after your parents died. She was also recruited to look after you when your relatives were away. He felt it was safer to have someone from our world watch you than some muggle friend of the Dursley's who felt the same way about you as they did."

"What do you mean _did_? They still hate me!"

"_Do_ they, now?" Sirius replied mischievously. "I noticed your uncle was a lot warmer towards you today than he usually is."

Harry thought for a second. His uncle _was_ a lot nicer to him than usual. 

"Sirius," Harry began, "Why-"

"Would you look at the time!" Sirius interrupted, "We better be going, Harry, Molly will be frantic."

Sirius reached into his pocket pulled out the pink handkerchief. 

"Ready, Harry?"

"Er-"

"One, two, three,"

_Both of us._

_What?_

_We'll take it at the same time...._

_On three, right?_

_One- two- three_

Harry had absentmindedly grasped the handkerchief. He felt the familiar pull somewhere behind his navel. He was being pulled forward in a howl of wind and swirling color, Sirius at his side.

Finally, Harry felt his feet slam down onto the ground. As he fell forward, he realized that he did not recognize this dark and damp place, as it was surely not the Weasley's house.

_Where are we?_

_Did anyone tell you the cup was a portkey?_

_Wands out d'you reckon?_

Somewhere around him, Harry heard footsteps drawing nearer.

_Someone's coming_

"Harry?!"


	4. AN

A/N~ 11/7/03

Whoa... major editing.... I realized I completely messed up some stuff in the last chapter. *coughfloodoesntmeantotakeaportkeycough* I dunno, sometimes I make the stupidest mistakes. Anyway, I thought it was time for a long overdue update, so here it is. Yes, I _finally updated! Tellie will be happy, won't she? lol_

See you guys soon, oh, and don't forget to review! =)


	5. In the cave there is no sunlight

((Yes, I'm _finally_ updating! Tellie will be proud of me! Sorry if this chapter jumps around a lot, or if it's kind of confusing... it's been a while since I last updated and I forgot exactly where I was going with this story. I tried to sum everything up in as short a chapter as I could, but the result is that it isn't as great as I'd like it to be. But at least it's an update, right? Anyway, I'll get on with the story; thank you's are at the bottom. Enjoy!))

"Harry?!"

Harry heard his name being called and footsteps running towards him from a few feet a way as he clumsily got to his feet and looked around. It seemed as if he was in a sort of underground cave. It was dark and damp, and Harry could not understand why he was there, nor could he see any doorways to get out of it. He turned to Sirius and gave his godfather a questioning glance. Sirius simply shrugged and pointed in front of him to where Arthur Weasley was beckoning them over. 

"Mr. Weasley?" He called, "Wha...?"

"Shh! Harry, there isn't time to explain. Through here, quick!"

Mr. Weasley led Harry over to a door on one side of the cave that, had he not been shown where it was, he would not have known it was there. He pushed it open and stood back to let Harry and Sirius through. Then he waved his hand around the cave and it sort of twinkled, before going black again.

As soon as Harry stepped through the door, he was greeted both by a cry of, "Harry!" and a tight hug through a great deal of bushy hair, nearly smothering him. After several seconds, he was able to breathe again, and looked around the room. He was in a brightly lighted little room that contrasted greatly with the cave he had just left. There stood his two best friends, Hermione and Ron, a very worried looking Mrs. Weasley, and oddly enough, his old Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin. They were all silent for a second, staring avidly at Harry, before he broke the silence with a long awaited question.

"Erm, could someone please explain?" He asked, trying his best to be polite through his anxiouls inquiry.

Everyone jumped in to answer; however, it was Mr. Weasley's voice that cut trough the others, silencing them.

"The burrow isn't exactly safe anymore," He said slowly, "You see, Voldemort knows you were scheduled to come, so he is keeping a watch on the house. Dumbledore knows this, of course, and arranged for us all to come here for a little while." Seeing Harry's bewildered face, he paused, and added, "This is an unplottable cave, Harry. And In addition to that, Dumbledore has put a spell on it, so that no one, and I mean no one, can enter it once you did. Your entrance, along with a handy spell that Dumbledore showed me, has sealed it shut. We can only exit it now."

"However, in the rare occasion that someone _was able to enter it, He added, taking a breath, "Dumbledore added on this room, with the door only accessible to those who know where it is. Very clever, you see? Basically, even if Voldemort discovers where you are hiding, the chances of him actually finding you are very slim." Mr. Weasley smiled at Harry, who looked completely bewildered._

"It's so great to see you again, Harry!" Hermione burst out, while Ron nodded. "It may be small in here, but at least it's safe." She added, as though reading his mind.

"But how are we going to get to Hogwarts?" Harry asked, thinking of nothing but his "home."

"We'll know when it is safe, Harry," Mr. Weasley answered matter of factly. When Harry continued to look disbelieving, he added, "Dumbledore has his own way of contacting us here. Believe me, he wants to get you to the safety of the school as soon as possible, before term even starts if need be. At this very moment, in fact, he is planning your trip there. We just need to wait it out a bit."

Harry shrugged, thinking longingly of that time when he would finally reach Hogwarts. He missed the castle more than anything, and could hardly wait to get back. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by a flash of scarlet and gold, a segment of a very familiar song to Harry, and a swish of feathers. Harry looked up to see a single scarlet feather floating down from the middle of the very small room, followed by a piece of parchment. Mr. Weasley hurried forward, snatched the parchment out of the air, and unfolded it. He read it for a second, and his eyes became narrowed in surprise.

"Erm, change in plans Harry...." He said slowly, handing the parchment to Harry.

Harry took it, understanding that his confusion was not over for the day. It read:

_Harry,_

_I need to speak with you, Arthur knows what to do. The bird caught a worm and fed it to the babies._

_Professor Dumbledore_

Harry's eyes narrowed as he read the letter; however, they narrowed in confusion, not surprise. He reread the last part; _The__ bird caught a worm and fed it to the babies. He had no idea what that meant, but figured it had something to do with the madness that was rumored to. He looked questioningly up at Mr. Weasley, who took the letter back from Harry and picked up his jacket, which was lying on the floor._

"Come on, Harry," He said shortly. "I'll send for you soon, you'll know when," He added simply to his wife. "Er, maybe Ron and Hermione should come as well." And with a hurried wave to Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and Professor Lupin, the four of them exited the "hidden" door and walked out into the dark cave.

((I'm going to end it there for now, but I wanted to at least update _something_. Sorry if that chapter was confusing... next one will be better, I promise! And it won't be another 4 months from now, either!))

Thanks to:

**Feltonze**** Girl (4 times! lol) **

**Ladyscar******

**Lil**** Lupin**

**Kassi******

Thanks for reviewing, you guys! I appreciate it!


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